Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to continue as Labour leader despite a disastrous set of local election results that have seen the party lose control of several councils, with many losses to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. Early counts showed Labour shedding around half the seats it contested, including defeats in traditional strongholds such as Hartlepool, Tameside and Tamworth.
‘The results are tough, they are very tough, and there’s no sugarcoating it,’ Starmer admitted on Friday morning. ‘We have lost brilliant Labour representatives across the country … and I take responsibility.’ However, he insisted he would not walk away from the promises on which he was elected less than two years ago, arguing that to do so would ‘plunge the country into chaos’.
The losses prompted calls from some Labour MPs for Starmer to stand aside. Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell said the party needs to consider why it is in this situation and that ‘the leadership question has inevitably to be on the agenda’. Hartlepool MP Jonathan Brash echoed this, calling on Starmer to set out a timetable for his departure to allow an orderly transition.
Other senior figures rallied behind the prime minister. Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said: ‘You don’t change the pilot during a flight.’ Defence Secretary John Healey expressed confidence that Starmer ‘can still turn it round’. However, West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker called for ‘a reset and a refocus’ for the government.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage hailed the results as ‘a big, big day … for a complete reshaping of British politics’. His party took control of its first London council in Havering, having won 327 seats in early counting. The Conservatives also suffered heavy losses, though they managed to regain Westminster Council from Labour. Starmer’s approval ratings remain among the worst in history, and the results underline the fragmentation of the British electorate.
